jh87

Same thing happened to me. I searched various forum and found out this dealer may offer below invoice price. I went there and asked what they could offer. 2K under invoice without bargaining at all.

BJ021

Guess I have no clue what I am talking about...Again!

patsy1099

I know you asked about a 450 but I paid 500 over invoice for a 550 (I ordered it). Seems like deals are definitely out there on 450's and probably will be on 550's come the Spring, depending on the economy, gas, inventory, etc. We'll see.

But I would have never thought 2K under invoice for any GL 2008's (maybe 07's). That's insane. I guess the markup is much more than I thought....or....these guys are going to have some bad year-end numbers coming out!

LASCAUX

The Spread Between Invoice And Msrp Is About 6%. There Is An Additional Dealer Holdback Of 3% Of Msrp. Dealers Receive The 3% Quarterly If They Meet Certain Performance Requirements From Mb.

CK530

So the best time to buy is at the end of the quarter (12/31/07)?

Does anyone know if you sign a purchase order on 12/31/07 but delivery will take place in Jan 2008, does the dealer counts the sale as a 2007 or 2008?

Thanks
CK530

BJ021

Sales generally only count when they are physically delivered to the owner (they can fudge a few days here and there but not a month!) - so an end of year deal is only good if the unit is in stock. Also, a dealer may not have a 12/31 fiscal EOY... but to LASCAUX's point - they may have bonus's coming from MB if they can ship the unit at the end of the year...so order now to try and get one by year end! Dealers can search other dealers around the country and work trades - so work every angle.

Good Luck-

SteveY

This is my first post to this board. I have received some good info here...so I thought I should start contributing as well.

I just purchased a 2008 GL450 last weekend. Black on Black with P1, 19" wheels,and other misc options. I live in northern CA and also travel to soCal alot. I started contacting soCal dealerships and was offered $1,000 off invoice initially and was able to purchase a GL at nearly $2,000 below invoice from a norCal dealership. You may contact me if you would more info.

Steve

oknish

CONGRATS, Steve.......Welcome and enjoy your new ride. Glad to see you contributing as well.

CK530 - you will always get the best deal on a car that is sitting on dealer's lot since they want to move that inventory first. Regarding the best time to buy, anytime is a good time if you have done your homework

scottybdiving

Has anyone purchased a GL 320 lately and did you find any deals. When we bought ours in late August, there were very few 320's available, let alone good deals. I shopped hard on the internet and by phone to get one for anything under MSRP. Has that changed over a couple months? I know they are not available in CA, where these outrageous deals are available on the 450's.

Taiwanese

I always wonder if the invoice that you see from KBB is the true invoice or not. How can they afford to make only 5% to 6%? Fancy building? Salary? Free coffee? Inventory cost?

tm4exc

Last August, MB in Reno and LV would only deal at MSRP for a 320. that was when I had delusions of importing a 320 into CA as a used vehicle to get around the CARB restrictions! I know I was delusional! MB in Eugene it turns out may have been more flexible on price below MSRP, still well over "invoice" whatever that means. BL is that the diesels are becoming more popular and they have a fixed capacity to produce the engines this year.

MKW

In tough times , dealerships have to just move the metal and hope to make a few bucks on the holdback , service biz,
and taking in your cream puff trade -in and making a few thousand bucks on the latter !

Those who post about their personal purchase prices should also state whether there was a trade in the deal , for obvious reasons. We got ours at Bay Area dealer for 500 hundred below invoice , no trade in.

BJ021

At the end of the day, they want you in their service department. They have data on how much the average MB customer means to them...and most of the money they make is in the back. Plus the holdback LASCAUX mentioned previously at 3%.

Chicky Monkey

This was the deal I got.

I got a dealer who didn't participate in the Costco program to match the Costco price of $1,000 over invoice. It was quick and easy. We've bought 3 vehicles with the Costco program and I can't recommend it enough.

I was very happy with this price and the ease of the deal. Maybe some can spend hours negotiating a thousand or so less, but on an $80k car it's not worth my time. I made the deal, signed on the dotted line, drove my car home and started enjoying the heck out of it!

SteveY

MKW: We also purchased our GL in the bay area. We did not have a trade-in. It was a purchase that happened in a couple of hours.

My experience with invoice prices listed on the internet is correct. Keep in mind there are advertising fees to be included.